MEDIUM OF TEACHING SCIENCE

                                      Part-1

There is talk of nonemployability of a large majority of new graduates in India.    It is actually a problem of English language (the language in which most teaching is done at college level and almost most entire research work in science is carried out) versus the languages of India (languages which are as developed as European languages  but do not possess sufficient modern terminology  for science and technology ) .

 In  modern world English is the language for science and technology (“s&t”). Any country which has not mastered English for use in  s&t  would decline.  Fortunately  India has a virile English base due to its long association with British colonialism.  We should understand  importance of English in modern “global village” view. There is need to inculcate deeper interest in English right from elementary school level. (Let us for a while forget the question of self respect of the great  Indian languages which are as well developed as any European language in the medieval sense but lack  in modern s&t terminologies and s&t research literature.)

 Three fourths of people in every Indian province are poor , backward,illiterate,ignorant and superstitious crushed by custom and caste for centuries.Teaching them  s&t   in the best  way and  should become   the priority of every Indian province. Only thus they would reach highest echelons in s&t  and there will be true independence for people of the Indian provinces.

 A very scientific and sincere  effort should be made to bring teaching of s&t  into Indian languages to a high standard at least with in a few decades.   For this purpose we should strive intensively to develop    standardized  but extremely simple words  for  s&t terms  common for all Indian languages  .  But the majority village people  should not lag behind the minority urban folks in science and technology.

 So to ensure this (i.e. as a safety measure)  ,  use of  English words for s&t  , exactly those science terms used  in Western  and Indian university text books of s&t  should be enforced. This should be enforced in  all the following matters --- teaching at schools,colleges and universities,  writing the  examinations  , for publishing research material,   for official communications  . For this purpose   local language with unfettered use of international English terms for s&t  should be  permitted . Even university and college level lectures , answering  examination papers in universities and colleges,printing science text books ,science journals,research papers –all these should be permitted in this mixed language “for a century”.

To be continued!